Best use: place Flamethrowers before the main damage line, cover the lane long enough to soften or mark the crowd, then let Cannon, Gunner, Laser or rear Tesla coverage finish the job.
What is known about Flamethrower
Flamethrower is an official tower name because it appears in the Elemental Carnage achievement. A June demo update also records changes to its fire duration, tick rate and tick damage. Those notes prove that the developer was actively balancing the tower during the demo; they are not a current full-release stat sheet.
No current release stat table
Steam does not currently publish a complete release-build table for damage, cooldown, range or upgrade costs. Community guides can support placement and role advice, but not a supposedly exact calculator built from unavailable data.
Is Flamethrower actually OP?
The honest answer is that current players disagree. Steam's discussion list has carried both “Flamethrowers are completely OP” and “How are you all using flamers that they're OP?” threads. A detailed release guide ranks Flamethrower below Tesla, Cannon, Gunner, Laser and grenade support for its author's playstyle, while another player describes it as excellent at lowering the horde so artillery and Cannons can do the killing.
That disagreement points to a role problem more than a factual contradiction. Flamethrower can look dominant when a lane stays inside its cone and the burn setup multiplies later damage. It looks weak when the crowd crosses the cone quickly or when it is expected to provide all of the late-game horde clear by itself.
Four placement rules that survive different builds
- Put flame before finishers. If the tower is supporting later damage, the crowd must encounter it first.
- Use corners and long approaches. Aim the cone so enemies remain inside it while following the lane.
- Space repeated Flamethrowers. Cover separate turns instead of stacking every cone on the same untouched group.
- Read the exit. Add Tesla or another reliable cleanup layer where weakened survivors leave the fire coverage.
Four ways to use Flamethrower
| Build | Where it appears | Role split |
|---|---|---|
| Flamethrower only | Level 3.1 Specialist | Repeated cones cover the course; high tower upgrades are assumed. |
| Flamethrower + Tesla Coil | Elemental Carnage | Fire pressures the front and Tesla cleans separated survivors. |
| Flamethrower + Tesla + Laser | Level 5.1 Triple Threat | Flame setup, Laser lane damage and rear Tesla cleanup. |
| Flamethrower + Mortar + Cannon/Gunner | Community kill-box discussion | Flame and knockback shape the choke; direct fire handles what escapes. |
Good partners and bad expectations
Place it behind the flame line so rapid 360-degree coverage is reserved for scattered survivors.
Use the Flamethrower to prepare the group, then fire through the occupied lane.
The 5.1 Flame/Tesla/Laser route uses the pair, but Laser value still depends on the available bounce geometry.
The choke pairing is popular, but knockback can also push orcs beyond a later firing arc.
When to stop adding more fire
- The main group is weakened, but single survivors keep leaking: buy cleanup, not another front cone.
- The crowd leaves the cone at full density: improve angle, time-on-target or the relevant upgrades.
- A straight lane remains packed: add penetrating Cannon or Laser pressure.
- Mortars scatter targets out of the fire: rotate or reduce the knockback layer.
- The map has several distant entrances: one concentrated Flamethrower wall may be solving only one of them.